The Lines That Divide Us

During his time as a student at Messiah College, David Michael (’19) greatly enhanced the work of the Center for Public Humanities by contributing insightful thoughts and in-depth research to our discussions and projects. Back in 2017, he composed a powerful poem that “explore[d] the paradoxical reality of Christian slave owners in the 19th century.”  And

Tacos in Tijuana

Tijuana is tense these days. Between standardized narco-crime and border disputes, there is always something of note happening in the city. When I traveled there a year ago, I went with the intention of learning about where the border wall ends on the beach. I went with the goal of gleaning a takeaway, some sort

Envisioning Good for All

What is the common good? Of course, asking that question leads to a slew of others: what group of people does the common good encompass; how do we pursue the common good; and that timeless inquiry: what is goodness itself? We ponder these questions and more as we embark on a year of discovering what

Class and Immigration

The Center for Public Humanities has the privilege of welcoming various speakers onto campus. The keynote lecturer at this year’s symposium was Edwidge Danticat, the highly respected poet, author, and speaker. Talking about immigration and refugees, she quoted Home, a beautiful poem by Warsan Shire, who wrote: “No one leaves home unless home is the

Finding Self-Expression Through Writing

When I was in the ninth grade, I wrote my first poem. Before then, I was not much of a writer. I had already completed a few (moderately terrible) short stories, and a couple Mother’s Day acrostics here and there, but this poem was different. It was my first piece that did not start with,

A Letter to Joseph Payawesea

A mere half hour away from Mechanicsburg, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School was the first federally-funded off-Reservation boarding school for Amerindian children. The boarding school was founded in 1879 in Carlisle, PA by General Richard Henry Pratt, who publicly held the motto, “kill the Indian, save the man.” Thus, the boarding school system sought to “modernize” and assimilate Indian

Home as Hospitality

The theme for this year’s Humanities Symposium is “Home,” and here at the Center for Public Humanities, we have been critically thinking about what home means, both for communities and individuals. Throughout that week (February 19-26), numerous people shared about this topic from many perspectives, and now Humanities Fellow Elisabeth Ivey will share her own reflection

I Am From

The theme for this year’s Humanities Symposium is “Home,” and here at the Center for Public Humanities, we have been critically thinking about what home means, both for communities and individuals. Throughout that week (February 19-26), numerous people shared about this topic from many perspectives, and now Messiah College student Marina Moreira tells her story of

The Paradox of Home

The theme for this year’s Humanities Symposium is “Home,” and here at the Center for Public Humanities, we have been critically thinking about what home means, both for communities and individuals. Throughout this week (February 19-26), numerous people shared about this topic from many perspectives, and now Humanities Fellow Brian Peters will share his own reflection

Spelling Home

Many of the Fellows get to participate in the Poetry in Place workshop, where young students interact with different subjects in history and in their personal lives and produce poetry that interprets those experiences. Continue reading as Fellow Olivia McCullum reflects on this time through her own poem.    Spelling Home We sit at high, round